Calories Versus Chemicals

Calories versus Sugar free chemicals!!

I see people constantly on Facebook always talking about how good their sugar free chocolate, maple syrup, BBQ sauce and other products taste as an alternative to the real thing and when I was prepping I was exactly the same.
Now that I'm not competing and can think clearly it got me thinking..

How safe are sugar free products?

These are some of the chemicals in sugar free foods

• 420 Sorbitol
• 421 Mannitol
• 953 Isomalt
• 965 Maltitol or hydrogenated glucose syrup
• 967 Xylitol
• 968 Erythritol
• 1200 Polydextrose
   

Can you even pronounce these words let alone know the effects it has on your body?? If you can't pronounce the ingredient you shouldn't be eating it I say.. 

Tests have shown that some of these chemicals lead to 

IBS

fatigue

abdominal pain and cramping 

bloating 

diarrhea

heachaches  

All those things just to avoid a few calories from sugar that you will burn off with exercise.. Seems crazy when you really think about it


Its scary how many people have sensitive stomaches and food intolerances and I'm not surprised why


Eat real food not chemicals.... Your body and health will thank you for it 

$50 I can make any Body builder scream in the gym using one bit of equipment :)

Haha I have trained with some very big boys at Mass training facility and in gyms across Australia who are over 100kgs easy of solid muscle..  

I have also been put through some grueling training sessions but nothing compares to pain felt from my good old friend the form roller haha 

That thing has me scrunching my face and making funny noises trying to fight how much it sucks when it rolls right over your tight muscles. Im yet to see someone use this piece of equipment and not scrunch their face in short term pain lol

It’s the most underused piece of equipment but one of the most effective things to use and my god the thing works wonders!!

When you have tight muscles it really effects your posture and muscle activation also it is very important to roll out and release your muscles in order for everything to work efficiently..

The worst bit for me personal is my ITB band which is rolling down the sides of your legs. To avoid it being so painful make sure you stretch after each workout

My 5 Biggest fitness mistakes in the past

My top 5 biggest mistakes made in the past..

Over the years I have tried different things for weight loss and muscle gain and at the age of 18 was where I think I did the most damage to my body due to a lack of education and a burning desire to be skinny because that was the "in thing" and unfortunately there is still the pressure to be slim all the time.

I dont want people and especially young girls to make the same mistakes and I did growing up.

I have a little sister and want to point her on the right path so I'm being very honest on some of the mistakes I made and how I over came it










Below are my top 5 biggest mistakes I don't anyone else to make.. 


1. Under eating and over training  

Why is it bad for you?
Have you ever herd of the term skinny fat? what happens is when you under eat and train hard your body needs fuel so if you aren't giving it the proper fuel then it will leave your fat stores and take it straight from your muscle.. What your left with is you looking slimmer because you have lost all your muscle but its all loose and flabby because you don't have any muscle or shape

How I over came it!! 
After I burnt all my muscle and was left looking skinny fat I hated how my body looked. I spoke to a fitness professional and realised I wasn't eating enough food so I download my fitness pal which is a app and it works out your calories for you and every time i would eat something I added it in there so I knew how many calories I needed to eat per day



2. Skipping meals!! 

Why is it bad? 
When your body doesn't think it will get fed it will go into panic mode and hold onto everything you eat because it thinks it won't get fed which then leads to weight gain.

How i over came it!!
I would set an alarm on my phone to go off every 2 - 3 hours reminding me to eat and what number meal I was up to


3. Over training!! 

Why is it bad?
I must have ADD or something going on because I would train for 4 - 5 hours a day from walking in the morning to beach sprints then a weights session finished with cardio again. My body was under so much stress from not having rest and recovery I was constantly getting shin splints which hurt so bad and tight muscles which gave me a head aches every day and my hormones where completely out of whack so I was always emotional haha


How I fixed it!! 

My shin splints made it impossible for me to train so I was forced to have a break for 4 weeks. Having all this time off from training I decided to do research. I found a picture of some fitness model I looked up to who happened to be andrea brazier and googled her training program and tried that instead of all my crazy training then I realised I didn't have to do crazy amounts of training  



4. Guilt training!!

Why is it bad?
I used to have the worlds biggest sweet tooth as a kid I would eat ice cream for breakfast if I could. As a kid you don't care you're like what ever this cream bun or chocolate cake is epic haha teenagers start to get more health conscious and start watching their weight. So if I did have something bad to eat after I ate it I would go for a 3K run to burn it off because I was so scared of putting weight on


How I over came it!! 

By guilt training my weight fluctuated like crazy which then again leads to skinny fat. I still remember someone saying to me "If you eat one good meal will that make you skinny instantly?" me - No
"Sooooo will one bad meal make you instantly fat?" me - No
then it clicked haha
What I did decided to do was I gave myself a cheat day and said to myself if I eat proper food monday to Friday I will have the weekend off and I will be ok



5. Not wearing proper fitness gear 

Why is it bad?
As much as I love my Adidas kicks they have zero support and gave me skin splints and collapsed arches and my feet decided to roll in and everything was out of whack which then lead to numerous physio sessions and orthotics to correct my posture

How I overcame it? 
I went into foot locker "BUUUUUURP HALF TIME"  hahaha sorry the guys there do like referees hahaha The guys there measured my feet and I got fitted properly with shoes to cater for my training





Hope this info will help you or someone you know that is a teenager that might be struggling

Having fun with food

My secret hobby is I love to cook :)

Yesterday I was having a play around with different breakfast ideas for people thats are on the go and don't have time to eat a proper cooked meal. This was one of my ideas

First Layer - Chia seed and coconut milk
Second Layer - Soft oats
Third layer - Greek yoghurt with blueberries
Top layer - Granola

I will keep playing with food and will share all my creations :)

If anyone has an ideas or favourites let me know and I will see what I can create.. Inbox your ideas to me on face book milena tramoshannon
oxoxo

The C word... "Cardio"

The C word "Cardio" can make people cringe

I'm not going to lie there are some days I wake up and think the last thing I want to do is to go for a walk right now..

The stuff I'm going tell you is so basic i know but honestly just keep it simple.. It doesn't have to be complicated. Small changes make the biggest difference

I have found a few different ways to make it less painful.. These are the top 5 things I do to help me get out of bed and get my booty moving

1. I will drag my room mate or friend with me for a walk, if you have someone to go with you know you can't bail lol

2. Borrow a friends dog to take for a walk.. the dog in this pic is actually my neighbours

3. Give yourself a reward, say to yourself if I go for a walk I will get to have a coffee on the way back. ( thats my favourite )

4. If you are meeting someone for breakfast walk to and from breakfast

5. When you first wake up play a song that gets you pumped up and excited which will give you a natural energy kick to wake up. Have some good music on your phone, chuck your head phones in and head out the door

Clean eating is key

I have always said abs are made in the kitchen and honestly it's true..

If you want to have a flat stomach and to see definition you need to keep your body fat % low and you do that by eating proper food.

I have been eating nothing out of a packet or processed, i have added in a few home made green vegetable juices to really help my digestion and its starting to pay off :)

try and drink 3L of water a day to help flush out toxins

One of my leg workouts

Leg Extension 

20 reps /  4 sets




Super set with

Machine squats 

20 reps / 4 sets

Leg press 

15 - 20 reps / 4 sets




Superset with

Walking lunges 

Sled pushes

4 laps

Thank you, Thank you :) xoxox

Thank you so much for visiting my blog :)

I feel so blessed.. I'm not anything special Im just a real girl with a real passion for health and fitness and I want to be able to give back as much as i possibly can so everyone can learn from my mistakes

Im going to be training hamstrings today so stay turned I will show everyone exactly what I do to add muscle and shape :)

If anyone has any questions feel free to send add me on Facebook milena tramoshannon
or follow me on instagram milena_tramo

Thanks again
oxoxo

My morning kick starter :)

My morning Kick starter ( excuse the blurry photo )

This is my morning ritual to detox and kickstart my metabolism

The second I wake up I will squeeze a lemon into filtered water.

After I have had my lemon water I then move onto a fresh drinking coconut that you can get from woolworths for $3 I have the juice and flesh

Then finally I make a green juice with

- Cucumber
- Celery
- Kale                                                                                  - Spinach
                                                                                    - Lemon
                                                                                    - Chia seeds  

Stop eating numbers and start eating food

        As I sit here I think how crazy it is how much our fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy has changed. An apple isn’t an apple anymore and it's really scary. I just finished work and I’m sitting behind my laptop researching different things so i can build my knowledge. 

        Food is my thing and I love to snack and for some reason I’m eating hommus and celery which is a little random but my inner Serbian comes out lol 

My hommus says dairy free and gluten free so i thought sweet I won't get a sore stomach. 

Out of curiosity i have a look at the ingredients and decided to type it into google to see what comes up and I copy and pasted what I found first

Chickpea (47%) 

Water

Canola oil 

Tahini paste 

Acidity regulator (575) = 

575 E575

Glucono delta-lactone

No known adverse effects in food. Food acid, artificial sweetener base, acidity regulator. Made from glucose.  Stops 'stone' formation during manufacture with milk and beer.  Found in gluten free food, processed meat, cheese.

Salt 

Food acids = 

1. Common food acids include vinegar, citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, and lactic acid. Acidity regulators are used to change or otherwise control the acidity and alkalinity of foods. Anticaking agents keep powders such as milk powder from caking or sticking.

Citric acid = 

Citric Acid Uses Around Your Home
For Cleaning & Stain Removal

Acetic acid = 

Acetic acid (ethanoic acid)

• Overview
• Health effects
• Environmental effects
• Sources of emissions
• References

Description

Acetic acid is used in a number of topical medical preparations, including the destruction of warts, in eardrops, as an expectorant, liniment and astringent. It is used in the manufacture of a number of chemical compounds, plastics, pharmaceuticals, dyes, insecticides, photographic chemicals, vitamins, antibiotics, cosmetics and hormones. It is used as an antimicrobial agent, latex coagulant and oil-well acidifier. It is used in textile printing, as a preservative in foods and as a solvent for gums, resins and volatile oils.

Garlic 

Preservative (202)  =

Introduction: Increasing use of sorbates (preservatives 200-203)

Until recently, sorbates didn't bother failsafers because they weren't in any foods we could eat. However, if you read labels regularly, you will have noticed that sorbate preservatives are creeping into all kinds of foods, mostly as sorbic acid (200) and potassium sorbate (202).

Adverse reactions to sorbets

Sorbates have been associated with asthma, eczema, contact dermatitis, eye irritation, nasal irritation and burning mouth syndrome (in medical journals, see below) and the full range of food intolerance reactions including irritable bowel symptoms and children's behaviour problems.

Firstly the fact I have to research what these number are are enough to give me the absolute shits..

Im so sick of all the sneakiness hiding behind numbers and food companies misleading people. Im not surprised with all the people I speak to that complain of or have suffered from 

Depression

Fatigue

Headaches

Migraines

Abdominal pains

Sugar cravings

Diarrhea

Migraines    

Have a look at all the junk added into our foods and we have 0 idea of the effects 

Dont even get me started on fast food companies 

 Read the labels everyone.. If you can't pronounce it of there are numbers put it back down 

 

Getting back on track

Getting back on track

Over the Holiday season I took some time off training to spend time with family. My body was telling me it needed a break and for the first time I actually listened..



Im back on track with my clean eating and exercise and I'm starting to see results in the first week.

The hardest thing I have found with starting again is being patient and trusting the process. When you don't think and feel your best it can really effect your self esteem and confidence which sometimes can make you do extreme things like binge eat because you want to give up and self sabotage or extreme diet because you just want the weight off instantly so you can start to feel confident again.

The best thing to do is to have a plan and stick to it and trust that it will work and everything will be ok :)

The first week will be the toughest part but if you can get past that then it will get easier and easier until it becomes a lifestyle.

I have to work just as hard as everyone else there is no quick fix or short cuts only hard work and dedication

As much as it maybe daunting and embarrassing take photos of yourself once a week so you can track your changes and see your body take shape


Before my break 3 months off diet and training  

Not training and dieting at all

















 Now

Kickboxing for cardio :)

Hitting pads :)

I have always told people to do things you love in order to keep fit.. For some people its riding a bike, taking the dog for a walk, tennis ect What ever it is it all counts and is positive :)

For me personally I love kickboxing and I find its an awesome way to keep fit and work on my core strength..

I have been training for a few years now and I'm addicted. I have had the pleasure of training with some awesome trainers in Australia and Thailand

This is a short clip of me hitting pads

Post comp road blocks and struggles

Post Comp road blocks and struggles

The reason I started this blog was because I want to give people honest information on exactly what someone goes through when they compete and also post comp..

I have always lead a very healthy lifestyle and I always sit very lean all year around. After doing my first competition I really can't believe how much it has taken a toll on my body and metabolism. As much as I loved the journey with competing ect I think now was it really worth everything I have gone through..

Below are some of the post comp struggles I'm going through

- Post comp bounce back - Everyone that competes goes through the 10kg bounce back. As much as everyone says they will keep following a strict diet post comp your body has been starved of nutrients for so long the second you start to eat properly again your body will store every single thing that enters your mouth and once you start you won't be able to stop.
- Losing the post comp bounce back - Im finding it twice as hard to lose weight and I think its due to my metabolism being shot from a restricted number of calories then a normal amount of calories has really thrown my body around.
- Water baby - The second I eat carbs boom my face holds so much water and I feel like a puffer fish!!
- Training -  For some weird reason there are days I honestly can't be bothered training and the thought of a gym makes me cringe which I have never experienced in my life.
- Confidence - You sit so lean for 20 weeks when you go back to a normal size it really playing with your self-esteem and confidence thinking that you are over weight
- Social pressure - After you compete I think people expect you to be that crazy lean all year round so you feel pressure to try and maintain that body fat % all year round which isn't realistic or healthy
- Binge eating -  While prepping you are taught to eat a low number of calories all week then on a Saturday or Sunday for a 3 hour window you get to eat as much junk food as possible which will kick start your metabolism. The only problem with that is post comp when you have a naughty treat you can't just stop at one your little brain receptors go crazy and you want to just eat them all and thats all you can think of.
- Eating properly again - After getting told what to eat and when for 20 weeks after comp I honestly felt really lost and alone and wasn't sure what to eat and would get guilty for eating normal food


Unless you want to be a professional body builder ect I would recommend for everyone to just focus on bettering themselves and reaching their goals instead of putting their body and mind through the extreme measures you take while prepping to be on stage.

My Personal detox stack

Getting back into clean eating...  You're not alone everyone feels like rubbish but you have to push through and follow the process 

Some people think a detox is going on these extreme 4 day juice diets ect which I'm personally not into at all.. Bellow is exactly what I take and when I take it. 

Chlorophyll 
Benefits - Super potent antioxidant, Helps clean out the toxic build up in your body, helps control hunger cravings    
How and when to take it - I squirt some Chlorophyll in my water when I first wake up and also I take it another 2 - 3 times though out the day for the first week then will only take it first thing in the morning ( it doesn't taste the best but its good for you so just skull it haha )




Fermented Sauerkraut  and Mojo Kombucha 

Benefits - Awesome probiotic that will introduce good bacteria into your digestive system and help the balance of bacteria.

How and went to take it - The Sauerkraut I eat two folk fulls before every meal and the Mojo drink I will drink that anytime during the day 




ATP ALPHA VENUS  

Benefits - Alpha Venus has been formulated to improve estrogen build up, for us women its mainly in our triceps, hips and legs  

When I take it -  I take 1 capsule twice a day with food 








Clean eating 

There is no point taking all these products to help get rid of all the toxins and junk from your body if you're going to refuel it again with more junk.. I make sure I eat nothing from a packet and I really try and avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners as much as possible so I still to meats and vegetates with lemon and mustard dressing  

Holiday binge recovery plan!! :)

Gets back on track after the silly season..

For the first time ever I actually did a normal thing and enjoyed having a break and a holiday.. I spent a full week in Byron Bay at Falls festival and ate what ever I wanted and also drank alcohol "which I never do" and I drank a lot of it haha so i know exactly how everyone is feeling :)

Now that the holidays are over and your routine is completely out the window from having so much fun its time to get back on track and here are my top 10 tips to help make it easier to get back on track.

1. Pick a day you're ready to start getting back on track, my day happens to fall on Monday so diet start Monday for me haha

2. Weigh yourself and write down your starting weight so you have something to go by and set yourself a realist goal weight for the week to help keep you focused.

3. Get all the junk food and temptations away from you.. out of sight out of mind

4. Make sure you have your food prepared the night before and put in plastic containers

5. Write down a what exercise your doing to do for that day or week so you have something to go off

6. Give yourself a cheat day.. Say to yourself ok if I stay on track Saturday I get to relax and eat what I want

7. Get a friend to do it with you so you have some support and motivation

8. If you do feel like eating junk food try and squeeze into the smallest tightest pair of shorts or a dress and that will usually do the trick and stop you haha i know that works for me

9. If you do have a slip up don't beat yourself up about it just eat clean for the rest of the day. The worst thing you can do is get upset then turn into a junk food eating mad man

10. Its the first week back so don't be hard on yourself just take it easy and each week try and eat cleaner and clean until your back on track


Good luck everyone :)
oxoxo